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Genesis 20

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1 And Abraham departed thence towards the south country, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned at Gerar.

2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister. And Abimelech the king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.

3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art [but] a dead man, because of the woman that thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife.

4 But Abimelech had not come near her. And he said, Lord, wilt thou also kill a righteous nation?

5 Did he not say to me, She is my sister? and she, even she said, He is my brother. In the integrity of my heart and in the innocency of my hands have I done this.

6 And God said to him in a dream, I also knew that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart, and I, too, have withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore have I not suffered thee to touch her.

7 And now, restore the man's wife; for he is a prophet, and will pray for thee, that thou mayest live. And if thou do not restore [her], know that thou shalt certainly die, thou and all that is thine.

8 And Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and spoke all these words in their ears; and the men were greatly afraid.

9 And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, What hast thou done to us? And in what have I sinned against thee, that thou hast brought on me, and on my kingdom, a great sin? Thou hast done to me deeds that ought not to be done.

10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, What hast thou seen that thou hast done this?

11 And Abraham said, Because I said, Surely the fear of God is not in this place, and they will kill me for my wife's sake.

12 But she is also truly my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

13 And it came to pass when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, Let this be thy kindness which thou shalt shew to me: at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.

14 And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and bondmen and bondwomen, and gave [them] to Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.

15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it is good in thine eyes.

16 And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand [pieces] of silver; behold, let that be to thee a covering of the eyes, in respect of all that are with thee, and with all; and she was reproved.

17 And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and his wife and his handmaids, and they bore [children].

18 For Jehovah had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah Abraham's wife.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 2533

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2533. That 'now return the man's wife' means that the spiritual truth of doctrine was by him to be brought back untouched from the rational is clear from the meaning of 'a wife' as spiritual truth, dealt with in 2507, 2510, and from the meaning of 'a man' as doctrine itself. Actually when Abraham who represents the Lord in that state is called 'a man' he means celestial truth, which is the same as doctrine from a celestial origin; for 'man' in the internal sense means the understanding part of the mind, see 158, 265, 749, 915, 1007, 2517. From this it is evident that 'resuming the man's wife' means bringing back the spiritual truth of doctrine untouched. Its being brought back untouched from the rational is meant because 'Abimelech' who was required to return her means doctrine that has regard to rational things, or what amounts to the same, means the rational things comprising doctrine, 2510.

[2] It has been stated above that although the doctrine of faith is in itself Divine and so stands above all human, even angelic, range of understanding, it has nevertheless been expressed in the Word in a rational manner in accordance with man's range of understanding. It is like a parent who is teaching small boys and girls. When teaching them he explains every single thing in accordance with their own mentality, even though he himself thinks from what is more interior or higher. Otherwise he would be teaching without their learning, or it would be like casting seed on bare rock. The same applies also to the angels who in the next life instruct the simple in heart. Although the angels possess celestial and spiritual wisdom they nevertheless do not go above the heads of those they are teaching but use simple ideas to talk to them, yet advance by degrees to higher ideas as the instruction advances. For if they were to speak from angelic wisdom the simple would not grasp anything at all and so would not be led on to the truths and goods of faith. Much the same would happen if in the Word the Lord had not taught in a rational manner in accordance with man's range of understanding. Nevertheless in its internal sense the Word is raised up to angelic understanding. But even so, that highest level of meaning on which the Word exists with angels is infinitely lower than the Divine. This shows what the Word is like in origin, and so what it is in itself, and thus that at every point it embodies more than the whole of heaven is capable of comprehending, even as to one small part, though in the letter it seems so ordinary and so crude.

[3] The fact that the Lord is the Word, because the Word derives from Him and He is in the Word, is clear in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1, 4, 14.

See also Revelation 19:11, 13, 16. And because the Lord is the Word, He is doctrine also, for no other doctrine exists which is itself Divine.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.